1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to static gaskets of the type used to establish a gas/fluid-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, and more particularly to multilayer static gaskets, such as a cylinder head gasket.
2. Related Art
In establishing a gas/fluid-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, such as a cylinder block and engine block, it is common to use a static cylinder head gasket having a pair of functional layers with a distance layer sandwiched between the functional layers. Generally, at least one of the functional layers has a seal bead to facilitate establishing a fluid tight seal. The distance layer is configured to abut the functional layer to facilitate establishing the fluid tight seal by compressing against the seal bead of the functional layer. Unfortunately, while fastening the cylinder block to the engine block, damage can occur to the seal bead through over-compression of the seal bead. If the seal bead is over-compressed, and substantially flattened, fatigue cracks can form in the area of the seal beads, such as during clamping or while in use. The fatigue cracks ultimately reduce the ability of the static gasket to establish an air and/or fluid-tight seal, thereby diminishing the life and performance of the engine. Further, with a single functional layer disposed to abut at least one side of the distance layer, it can prove difficult to achieve the line force necessary between the seal bead and the surface being sealed to establish a reliable gas/fluid tight seal.